Under the Stars
by Malind
Summary: Quite drunk, in the dead of night, Kíli stays behind to practice his archery and meets an elf with whom it's all too easy to ignore the forced distance between their peoples.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The Hobbit characters and universe are owned by Tolkien Enterprises. I make no profit from this fanfiction.

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The music of the fiddle danced with the light breeze. The fire fluttered light over the dwarf who danced around it to the cheery melody with leaps and pounding feet. Their laughter only added to the drunken merriment. The scent of ale and pipe smoke surrounded them, almost intoxicating the dwarves as much as their consumption did.

Eventually, as the Kíli's fingers bit down on the strings as his other hand seesawed the bow, Fíli exhausted himself, landing hard on his backside next to his brother. He took another drag of the warming fluid from the wineskin and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"All of Middle Earth is swimming," the elder brother laughed out.

Kíli shook his head, swaying with the directions of the motion. "No swimming for me tonight. I'd drown the moment my toes touched the water." He dropped the fiddle on his lap and took the skin from his brother, letting the last drops dripple onto his tongue.

The older brother took it back and looked inside the narrow rim, sighing, "Father is going to kill us for drinking half his store."

Kíli grinned before he started digging in the pack on the ground next to him, saying, "Ah, but I've brought a spare, my dear brother!"

"No, no, no, no, no," Fíli drawled out with a swaying shake of his head, "I've had enough. I'll be amazed if I make it home without passing out, let alone my bed." Yawning, the dwarf attempted a stretch, but quickly stopped as the motion turned him green. His arms dropped back to his sides. "Speaking of which, we should head back. I'm not sleeping on the ground again."

Kíli sighed, not ready to go back, even though some small, undrunk, rational part of him agreed with his brother's assessment. He leaned back against the tree he was seated at and looked up at the stars that barely showed through the canopy of tree. "Go on then. You drank twice as much as me anyway. I'll catch up. I want to practice my archery a bit more."

"You'll shoot yourself in the foot."

Refocusing on his brother, Kíli mock-glared. "You say that as if you'd like the fact."

"Trust me, Kíli, I have no desire to hear you whine for days on end about your girly little foot."

A booted foot lifted in the air. "Hardly girly."

The older dwarf huffed. "You could wear our mother's boots." He stood back up, wobbling slightly, and then started more or less forward. "Don't stay too much longer. I'd rather father not send me back out for you."

Grinning at his brother's troubles, Kíli purred, "You know, I may have pretty little feet, but at least I don't drink like a girl," He received a glare for it right before Fíli tripped on a jutting stone. "Careful now."

Fíli grunted, mounted his horse with an obvious carefulness and then rode at a slow trot into the trees, leaving the younger dwarf to his solitude. Kíli sighed, already missing him, but stood up and grabbed his bow anyway. Slightly trembling legs took him a short distance away, and he aimed at the target on a distant tree.

When he tried to aim though, the target kept going in and out of focus. Dark eyes squinted as the board seemed to do flips. He shook his head, eyes closed. He hadn't drank that much. Had he? A malfunctioning mind tried to count the number of swallows, but quickly gave up.

He stiffened his body, re-aimed, and then opened his eyes to fully align his target. Instead, a shocking, floating glow grabbed his attention at it blocked his vision's way to the tree. The glow hadn't been there just a moment ago. He blinked repeatedly, trying to alleviate a sight that wasn't supposed to be there. It took a few moments before he could admit the glow wasn't going away. Then the glow came closer.

The glow... He soon realized it was attached to a darker mass which pounded with the sound of hooves. The closer the apparent rider got...

Kíli squinted, wobbled, and finally lowered his bow he'd forgotten he was still aiming. After all, from what he could make out, this person had no obvious weapons drawn and approached slowly. Soon, the dwarf found himself looking further and further up, until his head was craning painfully. Whoever it was, they definitely weren't a dwarf. His hands itched to redraw the bow, but the other person's steadiness told him he didn't need to. At least not yet.

A teasing, probably smiling, definitely male voice murmured, "You might want to put that down before you hurt yourself, dwarf."

There was really only one race that said 'dwarf' in such a sarcastic way, like the word was unworthy to be spoken out loud. And what he saw, as the other person leaned down and over a bit, his hands resting on the pommel of his saddle, giving the dwarf a clearer view of his face, only confirmed Kíli's suspicions.

"A bit far from home, aren't you, elf?" Kíli attempted to put the same emphasis on 'elf', but it ended up sounding like a slurred drawl. Still nonetheless hoping the elf felt the burn, he added, "Didn't know they let you elves this far away from your mother's teats."

The elf's smile glowed brighter than his face, if that was possible. "I gave that up long before you were born."

Kíli looked over the other person, an elf who really looked no older than himself, and found it hard to believe. But he knew elves lived long, long lives, more or less a race of immortals.

Looking him over a bit more, he realized the elf was, well...

Stunning wouldn't have offered the slightest hint of justice. The elf looked far more female than male, at least compared to the dwarf's own race. If Kíli hadn't heard his voice...

A broad smile spread out on Kíli's face, the alcohol making this elf look so unbelievably inviting. Even if practically inbred hostility told him he should be chasing the elf down with his sword.

Yeah, so inviting.

"Would you like a drink to warm you on this chilly night?"

Dark blonde brows shot upwards, before the elf gave him a critical gaze, perhaps trying to understand his intentions. But really, what intentions could a drunk out in the middle of the woods really have?

The elf smiled again, though a bit more hesitantly. "That sounds... pleasant."

"Excellent, come," the dwarf said, turning around to walk back to the fire, "I haven't cracked open the other skin yet."

Behind him, Kíli heard the clump of feet as the elf dismounted. Those feet followed him, giving him the urge to look back, as not knowing what the elf was doing made his hair stand up, despite his drunkenness. But he reached the tree too quickly to bother.

A hand swooped up the said skin before Kíli could fall over, and he handed it to his new companion. "Drink slowly now. It's strong and might trample all over your soft elven sensibilities."

The merriment in the other's eyes arrested Kíli's breath, before the elf opened the skin, tilted his head back, and drank deeply, all without spilling a drop in a fashion a dwarf would have been envious of. Maybe elves could hold their drink. On this particular topic, he'd been grossly misinformed.

While the elf went on to surely drink half of it, Kíli watched with growing awareness of each swallow moved by the orderly muscles and tendons in the elf's neck. He couldn't stop his blatant stare, even when the elf lowered the wineskin and his gaze, meeting the dwarf's eyes with a smile.

"It's good. A bit unrefined, but good."

Kíli supposed he couldn't hope for a better compliment from an elf. He grinned. "It's the unrefinedness that gives it its kick," the dwarf murmured with a wink. He turned back around and sat next to the fire, leaning back against the tree where he'd been sitting before. "Sit. The fire is still strong enough to keep the chill away."

Surprising him, the elf sat right next to him, against the thick tree, just close enough that their clothing brushed together with any movement. The elf was much larger than himself, his one stretched out leg just a few inches away from the burning wood. Next to him, Kíli couldn't help but feel half his age. He looked up with cautious eyes, but saw that the elf had his eyes closed, his head back against the tree, perhaps taking in the sounds of the night with calm, steady breaths. The elf was...

So beautiful.

The elf seemed to sense the thought as his eyes opened and his head tilted down to look at him. A smile crept up on that pale skin. "Changing your mind about having company?"

"No, not in the least," Kíli said quite honestly, but embarrassing him after he realized he'd said it, as the words had probably said far more than he'd intended to let on.

The elf's smile lessened, and Kíli realized he was still staring. The dwarf looked to the fire then, clearing his throat. The skin was pushed against his chest.

"Drink. It'll calm your nerves."

Nerves? A dwarf did not have nerves around an elf!

Then again...

Kíli took the skin and drank deeply before handing it back to his companion. "So... What brings you here this fine night?"

The elf hummed his apparent amusement at the question. "I thought it was time to explore the world a bit. Not that my father appreciates it, but... He'll manage the months without me." He looked down at him again. "And you?"

"Uh, just passing the time, I suppose. Outside of combat training, well, I'm not an heir to the dwarven throne or anything." He shrugged. "Any duties I have are minimal."

The elf picked the fiddle lying carelessly on the ground. "You play?"

The dwarf smiled broadly. "Oh, yes. Music is one of life's few pleasures."

"Play for me?"

Smile dropping away, Kíli blinked at the request, so not expecting it. He reached for the crude device like he'd never touched it before in his life. When he finally had his hands on the fiddle and bow, he rested the instrument under his chin and played one of the softer melodies he'd learned, so as to not offend the elf's ears.

...And when did he start caring about an elf's ears exactly?

Almost immediately, a soft, fluid hum came from the elf sitting next to him, matching the pitches and tones as if the elf knew the song. Perhaps he did. Kíli found himself lost in it, a sound so much more exquisite than could ever come from the sorry piece of wood at this throat. He didn't realize he'd stopped playing until the humming stopped a few moments later.

Is anything about him not beautiful?

A brow cocked at him. Kíli blinked. Had he just said that out loud? Was he really that drunk?

The dwarf swallowed and whispered, "Did I just say that out loud?"

The elf smiled. "Yes."

A vain bastard, wasn't he? But Kíli didn't blame him. If he himself had looked like a god had come down personally and given life to a yellow rose, well...

Without warning, making Kíli suck in a breath, a hand came up and touched his cheek. The elf's soft looking mouth came down and caressed his own just like a breath of air, leaving him wanting more. From an elf. Yes, from an elf.

When the elf pulled away, the extra alcohol doing its work on the dwarf, Kíli grinned and wondered what his family would think, what his uncle Thorin himself would think, if they could see him. Well, after they beat him and then demanded answers, he'd probably blame the alcohol. If that didn't work, he'd blame his young body's needs. And then he'd try crying rape, if those two things didn't satisfy them.

Well, then again, suggesting rape probably wouldn't be a good thing. For starters, they wouldn't believe him. Furthermore, such a claim would be more like admitting what he wanted to do right at that moment.

But really, if they could only see how this elf held him like a lover would... Would they really want to beat him for just a caress?

But minutes later, what he and the elf did together, well... He knew there wasn't a sentence that could be spoken or a punishment worthy enough to save his hide.

And he let the night air know that with his heavy breaths and moans, as the elf stripped him, kissed, licked, and nipped at his body like he was delicious. Entered him so that he called out, not having the mind to care who or what heard him.

Was this what making love was like? He'd only imagined it before that moment. But maybe he was just drunk, delirious, feeble-minded, and unable to truly comprehend the reality of what was happening to him. He, a dwarf, wasn't supposed to like this coming from an elf.

But he did. So much.

When he awoke the next morning, he was cold and alone on the ground. Sitting up with extreme care, he cradled his head, and then realized, as the ground dug into his tender skin, his backside was still quite naked underneath the blanket. Tossing off the blanket, he struggled up onto wobbly legs and pulled his pants up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement. And there the elf was, adjusting the pack on his mount, before he walked over to Kíli. And then the elf smiled, an expression brighter than the sun coming up steadily over the horizon. It made the dwarf cringe a bit in his embarrassment.

"For your head. Chew it. You'll quickly feel better than it tastes."

Kíli took the small wad of dried growth, shoved it into his mouth, and chewed it steadily. He shrugged and sighed. He'd tasted worse.

Startling him, a grunted growl sounded behind them. He turned his head too quickly towards it and cringed. The voice of his father said, "These are dwarf lands. State your business."

The elf next to him straightened fully. "Legolas, son of Thranduil of the Woodland Realm."

Kíli jerked his head back to his... What in the world was he to call this person?

And... And the elf had just said Legolas. Legolas! The son of Thranduil, an enemy to his people, his family. While Kíli wasn't the worldliest person, he'd heard of the King and his only son. And he knew well the animosity between their ancestors, some living, some dead.

Dark eyes went wide. What in the world had he done? And he'd been scared of a beating...

I'm going to die.

Kíli looked between them, mouth opened slightly, hoping some sign of mercy would shine on him that early morning.

"I was merely passing through, but I'll steer clear of your lands. Thank you..." Legolas looked to Kíli pointedly.

"Uh..." It took him a moment to realize what Legolas was getting at. "Kíli."

The blonde elf smiled, just slightly, not enough for the semi-distant dwarf to see. "Thank you, Kíli, for the directions." He nodded to both of them, mounted, turned his steed, and trotted off in the opposite direction.

Kíli, on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes off of him, even when he couldn't see him anymore. He'd... Well, he'd made 'love' with Prince Legolas.

No matter how much his body enjoyed that fact, he couldn't help muttering, "I'm dead... But..."

But then he smirked, biting his bottom lip, remembering the feeling of every touch, lick, and bite.

"It was so worth it."


	2. Chapter 2

The dwarf picked at his food, not all that hungry, and he was never 'not hungry.' As such, his disinterest got him plenty of glances from his family seated at the table. More so when they couldn't even engage him in conversation.

That elf, the one who should have been his last worry, just wouldn't get out of his head no matter how forcefully he tried to banish him. He'd been drunk. He'd be the first to admit it. And admittedly, he remembered more feelings, glorious feelings at that, than the actual contact itself, but still...

Kíli bit his bottom lip as he shifted his backside in the seat, trying to remember the contact in better detail. He knew he'd loved the sensation of the elf's wonderfully thick length inside of him. His body wanted it again. He wanted it again. He chewed his lip harder.

And Legolas had said with his small smile, "Thank you for the directions."

At face value, the words were probably just a cover-up to save the dwarf's backside. It certainly wasn't to save the elf's own. Legolas hadn't needed to say it. His father had only caught them talking, after all. The elf could have just ridden away, no real harm done.

Some illogical part of him though couldn't help but think the 'thank you' had been more than just that. That perhaps the elf had said it with the intent that Kíli might take a hint. That Legolas actually wanted to see him again. Wanted him to follow after.

And to run after him... The whole idea was silly, romantic, and, well, lustful. Something young wayward dwarves did. Not someone his age. So why couldn't he get it out of his head?

Yes, it'd had been odd thing to say, especially since the elf had already known the way. Legolas had talked about his destination before Kíli could no longer stop sleep from overcoming him. The fact that the elf's soft voice had been so soothing hadn't helped his resolve to stay awake in the least.

The port of Lindon, Legolas' destination, was on the other side of the mountain range. He tried to picture it, a land full of elves and other migrants. The whole of it was such a different concept than Ered Luin, a home only to dwarves, that he couldn't help his fantasies of what might be there, the adventures to be had.

Unthinkingly, he blurted out, "Father, I was thinking of taking a trip to the coast." When he looked up and met the dwarf's eye, saw the coldness there, he couldn't help the clearing of his throat.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that elf, Legolas, who came through this morning, Kíli?"

"Legolas, the son of Thranduil, you mean?" his mother asked, clearly aghast. "Why would he travel so far north? Their kind usually keep to the coast."

"Apparently he was a touch lost," the eldest dwarf said with a smirk.

"Lost?" His mother clearly didn't buy it either.

Kíli sighed internally. Maybe Legolas had been trying to get him whipped. "I don't believe he was lost. He said he was exploring what Middle Earth had to offer. I guess he wasn't expecting to see a dwarf so far south."

His mother pressed her lips together and then looked to her husband. "I've said before we give both boys too much freedom."

"Mother," Kíli sighed out, "I turned 23 a few months ago. I'm hardly a child anymore."

"Well, you act like one. If you have this much free time on your hands, perhaps it's time you joined in on the real work in the mines."

"You know Thorin would see me trained for wartime."

"And you have been," the gruff female dwarf said with a nod. "That doesn't change the fact that you boys go off hunting and drinking and whatever else it is you two do out there. You obviously have more than enough time to commit yourself to the settlement's best interests."

"Father, please, you know what I do with my days! I'm not just running around all day neglecting my duties."

His elder hacked a laugh. "I'm not stepping foot in front of your mother, boy."

Kíli groaned and sat back in the chair. He glanced over at Fíli and saw the dwarf's lips pressed together as he tried to contain his laughter. Kíli rolled his eyes.

His mother put her elbows on the table. "I never said you neglected your duties. I said you don't have enough duties."

"I understand that..." The youngest dwarf blew out a huff of air. "But, would you both mind it if I just took some time to explore a bit. And then, when I come back, I'll do whatever it is you'd like me to do. But, well, I'd like to know what I'm missing before I spend my days in the darkness."

The elder's hand shot up in the air. "See, what'd I say? It's that elf putting fanciful ideas in his head. And they only talked... for how long, exactly?" The dwarf looked to Kíli pointedly.

"A few minutes," he half-lied. But really, they hadn't talked for all that long. They'd been busy doing other wonderful things. Kíli looked to his mother cautiously. She'd never looked more serious in her life.

Then she sighed. "I suppose. If you truly want to. Take a few weeks. Get this out of your system. Then come back and be prepared to offer your services however you can. You understand me?"

"Yes, mother, of course." He couldn't stop his huge smile from lighting up the room.

And she couldn't stop her smile from answering back.

He finished his food with enthusiasm, completed his chores, including washing the dishes, and then set off to his room to pack. Through all of this, he bubbled with an excitement that couldn't have been dampened by anything, short of his mother changing her mind.

When he'd finished with his clothes, he turned around and saw his bother in the doorway looking at him with a frown. "You're not going to beg me to go with you, Kíli?"

The younger dwarf's jaw dropped, realizing he hadn't even considered it.

Fíli tilted his head, scrutinizing him. "What are you doing, brother? There's something going on here. You better tell me what it is."

"I..." He didn't know what to say. He didn't want to lie to the other dwarf. But he couldn't tell him the truth either and risk it getting back to their parents.

After all, this wasn't something trivial, something that could be laughed off. What he was doing bordered on committing treason, although the only thing he planned on doing was satisfying the elf's desires along with his own, and that was only if he could even find him at all. The elf already had several hours lead on him.

The older brother's frown deepened. "We've never even been apart for more than a day or two, and now you're leaving for weeks without me?"

Kíli pressed his lips together as he realized his brother was quite hurt by the prospect. How he wished he could take him, but he just couldn't. His brother would never understand nor accept this. "Fíli, you know I love you more than anything, but... I just need to do this. On my own. I'll be back. Probably sooner than we both could imagine."

"Kíli... You were out all night last night, and now today, the way you were acting... After meeting him..." He shook his head, holding himself. "I'm not stupid, and I'm not fragile. If you just tell me..."

"If you see that much, then I'm sure you already know."

"At least... at least let me come with you until you find him."

The brunette couldn't help his smile. "You're worried about me?"

"I'm always worried about you when we're apart. How could I not? I love you more than life, even when you're an idiot."

The words filled Kíli with warmth. He marched up to his brother and embraced him strongly. "I love you the same. And I assure you, I'll be fine. We've been trained for warfare and survival since we could walk. I can handle myself out there. Don't worry."

"The only thing I'll be doing the next few weeks is worrying."

They gripped each other tighter and then finally let go.

Kíli held him then at arm's length. "Don't neglect your duties and have fun doing my chores for me."

Fíli grinned with a sigh. "It's only fair since you'll be doing mine for months when you get back."

"Fair enough." He hugged him one last time and then finished packing, but his brother lingered. After a few minutes, he couldn't help but look back, the quietness unnerving him. "What?"

"If he does anything to you..."

His chest constricted. His head started to shake. "Don't worry so much. I'll be fine."

"All the same."

Kíli stared for a moment but then nodded. He couldn't deny his brother that right, even though he wished Fíli hadn't felt the need to think such things.

When he was all packed up, he gathered up the saddle bags and walked to the living area to say good bye to his parents. They hugged him briefly, great concern in both of their eyes, but in the end, they let him go, his mother handing him a bag with foods that would last him a few days. When he walked outside, Fíli was still following.

His brother helped him saddle his horse in silence. It was unnerving for his brother to be so quiet. But he couldn't break the silence either. When everything was properly secured down, his brother grabbed him again in such a fierce hug that he almost couldn't breathe. He held him back, tears finally coming to his eyes.

"You won't miss me as much as you think. When I get back, you'll probably already have a wife and little ones running around."

"You better not be gone that long!"

Kíli huffed. "No, I won't. I promise. I'll see you soon."

The older brother reluctantly let him go. They gave each other one last smile and Kíli mounted his horse and rode off into the distance with a pain in his chest. He hadn't thought leaving his family would be so difficult. But it was.

The dwarf rode out hard, getting past the folk that were taking care of their afternoon chores. Soon enough, too soon, he left civilization behind, traveling a good hour back to the area where he'd first met Legolas. When he got there, much to his shock, the elf was sitting there at the fire that had long died out. Eyes far too light looked up at his approach.

Kíli yanked on the reigns too hard and the horse reared up, annoyed with the harsh treatment after a hard run. He bent forward, trying to not get bucked off, trying to steady the beast with whispers. Remarkably, it calmed to the sound of his voice. Remarkable because he'd never before felt so much in an uproar.

Legolas had waited. For him.

Or was there another reason he was there?

The elf rose and smiled at him. "I'd hoped you would come back."

Kíli huffed with a huge smile, heat burning every part of him. "As if I could stay away."


	3. Chapter 3

The elf found himself unable to tear his gaze away from the dwarf's every gruff, solid movement as he dismounted and strode up to Legolas with the confidence of their race. Kíli stared back just as much but soon lost his smile. With the loss, his own slipped away. The dwarf seemed... well, shy or apprehensive all the sudden, as Kíli's stare turned into numerous flicks to the ground.

Was it himself, how Legolas was presenting himself? Their cultures were different enough for easy misunderstandings. And considering the dwarf's straight footsteps, they obviously didn't have the aid of alcohol to ease the moment.

Was it something internal? Legolas had his guesses if that was the case, but he preferred knowing the truth to merely guessing, so he didn't think too much on it. He'd wait until later to ask. The last thing he wanted was the dwarf to turn heel and retreat straight back to the dwarven settlements because he came on too strongly. He knew well the distrust, as well as the dislike and loathing, between their races, even if this dwarf seemed as unimpressed with it all as he did.

...Well, at least he hoped there would be a later point when he could ask. He had been on the road for months now, and that morning was the first time he'd felt so completely alone. Just a few hours apart the dwarf, and the elf had been practically begging everything around him for Kíli's return.

So, yes, he'd stayed, hoping the dwarf had been as affected by their time together as he'd been.

When the much shorter person stood far enough away to not quite touch yet, even with Legolas' own longer reach, probably so Kíli didn't have to crane his head so much, the prince found himself riled up with the way the dwarf was looking at him. He tried to release some of the tension by looking away to the dwarf's horse instead as it grazed, its muscles flicking to release the tension of the ride.

It was ridiculous to feel this way when he'd spent the last few hours wanting this moment. Besides, he knew he had nothing to fear from Kíli. So his heart thumping away was both annoying and surprising at the same time.

And so was the pack-laden horse, for that matter. Well, it was surprising anyway. He looked back down at the dwarf, trying to figure out if he was seeing things. "Are you traveling?"

The traveling part was obvious. But had Kíli actually made plans to come with him? Even though Legolas had considered it, he certainly hadn't expected it. Not after only one night. He'd only thought to be in this dwarf's company longer since their time together had been cut short so abruptly. One day of waiting for someone who might not come back wasn't going to make a difference to months away from home.

The brunette looked back to his horse and then to him, his jaw working a bit before he managed, "I thought... I mean, if you don't want me to come with you, by all means, I can go back home with my tail between my legs, but I thought..." Kíli looked away with a huff. "Am I being stupid here?"

"No," Legolas said with a shake of his head. Dark eyes latched back onto his face. "I just wasn't expecting it."

Kíli's teeth bit down on a lip Legolas knew to be so soft, as the younger person huffed through his nose, looking away. "I... I'm sorry. I just-I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I thought maybe..." He hugged himself over his thick layers of clothing and growled as his head shook. "Ugh, I'm so stupid! Why in the world would you want me to go with you?" He huffed again, looking to the sky before back at him. "I'm just a dwarf, right?"

This was going downhill far faster than Legolas could have ever imagined. The daylight overhead and the lack of alcohol tempering their spirits wasn't helping. "That's not at all what I meant."

"Well, you waited for me, right? Were you hoping to mount me again before you head back on the road?" The dwarf let out a half-laugh through a humorless smile. "And really, it's not like I'd stop you."

"That isn't why I stayed."

"Then why did you stay?"

Legolas gritted his teeth for a moment, his gut tensing. "I stayed because I wanted more of your company."

Kíli laughed for a moment, a weak sound that cut the tense air, and raked a hand through his hair at the top of his head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm acting like a child. I assumed way too much. Or hoped, I guess."

Watching him, Legolas had to remind himself that this dwarf was young, at the prime of his bodily urges, and probably not nearly as experienced as himself. And considering he was nearly 3000 years Kíli's senior, with himself fairing little better...

And Kíli had apparently run out here hoping they'd, well, be together, at least for a short time. What if he hadn't been here waiting? Would the dwarf have keep going, trying to find him? The mere idea shocked him, let alone it actually happening.

When he stayed quiet, not really meaning to, still a bit shell-shocked with everything running through his head, Kíli added, "I hope this isn't one of those relationships where drinking is required to even look at each other."

Legolas couldn't help the shooting up of his brows before he smiled. "I hope so too... I-I'd like you to come with me, if that's what you want to do. Honestly, I just hadn't expected it. It's not that I don't want you to."

Slowly a smile crept onto the brunette's face, a smile that brightened everything. He turned his head, looking back the way he'd come. "Would you mind it if we got going then?" Then he met his gaze again, brushing long bangs out of his face and behind an ear. "I'd rather not have someone coming up on us again."

The dwarf's smile was difficult to turn away from. But Legolas managed it with a nod, before walking back to his horse, mounting it in an effortless movement. He started forward, Kíli quickly coming up on his side. Together they rode through the sparse trees, quietly. He could feel the dwarf's almost constant glances. They brought heat to him and, well, made him wish for some alcohol to soothe the urge to drag them both off their horses and take the dwarf against the nearest tree.

Trying to smash down the urge, Legolas asked, "Your family doesn't mind you leaving?"

The dwarf huffed. "Oh, they mind... But I've got to grow up someday, right? Besides, a few weeks without me will hardly destroy them."

"And your brother?"

The dwarf stared at him for a moment. "You know of my brother?"

Legolas glanced at him, offering a slight smile. "I know of your family. I'm sure you know, but the line of Durin is quite well known to mine and even discussed at the supper table."

Kíli took a moment to think on it. "I suppose it would be."

"My father..." The looks of detest and superiority that played over the ancient elf's face at even the word Thorin... It wasn't something he liked to think about. He understood the history, but the whole if it was so lined in greed and animosity that he kept his own mind as far away from it as possible. "My father finds it easy to hold a grudge."

"So does my uncle. But they have their reasons, I suppose."

"Yes, they do."

They rode on in silence for a while, probably both thinking on it, before Kíli murmured, "You know, you're a lot quieter than I remember. Last night, you were, you know, quite vocal."

A naturally quiet person, Legolas couldn't help his furrowing brow, looking to his companion. He'd talked the night before, although not all that much. He didn't really know how much Kíli had even heard before the dwarf's snores had overcome his voice.

"You know, the panting, and the moaning. And the words I couldn't understand, but sounded damn good."

Just on the tip of being tipsy hours before, the elf remembered quite well what he'd said in his own tongue. At the time, when the world had been nothing but heat, the dwarf reacting so sweetly, uninhibitedly to everything he offered, he'd meant them. Lips pressed together, Legolas tried to not react, but his body had other things on its mind.

After blowing out a small breath, the prince whispered, a sound barely heard over the beating hooves, "Are you trying to be taken?"

Kíli merely looked at him, drawing more heat through the elf's body.

Have I really been away from a willing body for that long?

Before last night, it had been quite a while. Legolas drew in a breath and let it out slowly, trying to steel himself. Perhaps Kíli's silence was because he didn't actually want his advances, not that he'd protested hours before. Or perhaps the younger person had more control over his body than the elf apparently did. Or perhaps the dwarf just couldn't say out loud exactly what he wanted. Or maybe Kíli just plain hadn't heard him. Any of those reasons were good enough to still him.

The dwarf never said or did anything, and the moment passed, however reluctantly Legolas' body was to let go of the possibility of the smaller body's tight heat.

Yes, he'd been away from a lover's heat for far too long. Perhaps, when he got to Lindon, he'd take care of that.

As if reading his mind, Kíli cleared his throat and asked, "So what's Lindon like?"

Legolas sighed, looking towards the direction of the faraway port, knowing he should be welcoming the change in subject. "There are elves, lots of them. Other races too. It's a major port for Middle Earth. But at the same time, it's subdued, like any city of elves."

"You've been there before then?"

"Not for a while."

"So you have traveled then."

Legolas smiled as he looked to the dwarf who looked back with genuine interest. "If I'd spent the last 2000 or so years sitting in the same place, I admit I'd be rather bored."

The dwarf's mouth hung open for a moment. "...You weren't kidding when you said you'd been away from your mother's teat for a while."

A full grin took over. "No, I wasn't kidding."

"How old are you then exactly?"

"2801."

"Is that all? Well, you don't look a day over 20." The much younger person huffed, looking ahead. "Elves and their immortal beauty, eh?"

Legolas watched the other who apparently refused to look back. The night before, Kíli had said he thought him beautiful but he'd also been drunk when he'd said it. Now...

Then again, it was hardly a compliment to be stared at or adored by those of another race or even his own, the vain creatures they were. His race was known for its beauty. But with this dwarf, for some reason, it was a compliment. Perhaps because he hadn't expected such words to come from the family of Durin.

A few hours later of rather silent companionship, the two of them dismounted at the river. The sea's inlet was only another couple of hours to the south at a steady pace. It was already noticeably warmer. They let their horses rest and graze.

Kíli took off his boots, bow and quiver, and sword, folded his pants up his legs, hauled up his heavy coat, and waded into the water, letting the lazy current pull at his legs. Legolas took a reclining seat on a slab of rock at the edge, watching him get deeper and deeper, until the water started soaking his pants. The darker the brown got, the more he started tottering on his legs. Laughing, the dwarf exclaimed, "Shit! It's cold!"

"Shouldn't you be used to that by now, dwarf of the Blue Mountains?"

The dwarf glared at him with a smirk. "Contrary to popular elven belief, we're a bit more civilized than that. We have advanced enough to heat our water. Not that we need to, mind you. A dwarf can handle any condition thrown at him, unlike certain races I know."

"I see that," Legolas said with a snort, looking away, downstream.

And then he was suddenly drenched in water. Having already let go of one side of his coat, Kíli thrust another arm full of water. Legolas was on his feet, jumping away, Kíli's laugh following him.

"No wonder you don't want to get in! You look like a drowned rat all wet." Kíli gave up laughing when Legolas flipped the wet hair out of his face and then took off his bow and quiver and sword as well, and then started towards the water. "Legolas, I was kidding! Take a joke! Don't get in! It's freezing!"

The words didn't stop him. He walked right into the water, directly up to the other person who backed up a couple of steps, the water almost to his groin and pulling at him. The water only came just under Legolas' knees at that point. He fell to his knees, bringing them more or less face to face, easily ignoring the cold in face of the other dwarf's panting breaths.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

"Warming you up," he whispered with a slight smile, as his hands weaved underneath the dwarf's coat.

He wasn't supposed to be doing this. He was supposed to have restraint until they got to the port. But he just couldn't help himself when the dwarf so clearly wanted to egg him on.

His own body was hot compared to the other's already chilled one. For a people who spent the majority of their days in the cold, dwarves had a surprising intolerance for it with the way they dressed in multiple layers, even when it was warmer. He could only guess it was from their severe lack of fat, their bodies normally a solid mass of muscle. Elves, on the other hand, had other ways to keep themselves warm.

Slowly, as the elf pressed against him, the shorter person stopped his shivering and chattering his teeth and leaned in, welcoming the heat. Kíli sighed weakly, his eyes closing. His face nuzzled the crook of Legolas' neck.

"Why are you so warm? Never mind the alcohol - No wonder I was able to sleep so soundly last night," the dwarf murmured. Soft lips lined in whiskers then trailed over the elf's skin, a tease. Legolas couldn't help a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold. "I bet you could run around naked and not feel it."

It was true, to an extent. "I'm sure you'd like that."

Legolas could hear the smile in the "Mmm-hm."

He couldn't help his own grin before closing his eyes as the brunette edged teeth over his neck. He should have been backing away. But he couldn't help but relish in it. Really, what was the point of keeping distance if the dwarf so clearly wanted him?

Was this dwarf always so wanton? Usually dwarves had other things on their mind, like food and ale, gems and gold, and hard-fought battles.

Legolas couldn't help asking, "Have you had many lovers?"

The smaller person instantly stilled, and the prince regretted asking. It was an immensely personal question, no matter the night before and this moment.

"Why?"

Why? Good question. "I'm just curious."

There was nearly a minute of silence. By the end of it, he so regretted asking.

But then Kíli whispered, "You're my first."

At first, Legolas didn't think he'd heard him right. His first? That couldn't be right, not with the way Kíli had responded so heatedly, thrusting his body as well as melting into him. He hadn't complained in the least, even when he'd taken him. Had only encouraged him on with his throaty moans and breaths, his yanks on his body. He had in no way acted like a virgin.

Had Kíli been so drunk that he hadn't truly realized what was going on?

And considering their size difference...

Legolas ran through all of last night in his head, trying to figure out if he'd missed something, hadn't noticed some obvious pain. He couldn't remember anything that would have hinted at it.

"You never have before? With anyone?"

"No... Was..." Genuine apprehension stiffened the dwarf's body. "Am I doing this wrong or something?"

Legolas leaned his torso away, pulling up his hands to grasp the dwarf's comparably small face. "No, that's not it at all. What you do to me... I thought you'd had a lover before. You should have told me."

It took a few seconds before the dwarf seemed to fully comprehend the words. Then, eyes lidding, he beamed a smile, his desire taking back over. "As if I'd had a thought in my head last night."

The words and obvious desire renewed the heat in the elf's body. Wanting this dwarf despite everything, perhaps because of everything, leaning forward again, still grasping his face, Legolas kissed the dwarf's soft lips, enjoying the brush with Kíli's whiskers when his own skin was so smooth. Kíli instantly tried to deepen it. The dwarf was so absurdly responsive. How could he have not had a lover before the other night? It was incomprehensible.

Legolas pulled away slightly. "If you haven't... Why me of all people?"

Kíli blinked at the question, clearly thinking the last thing on his mind. Then his eyes seemed to focus. "Why? I... I just wanted you."

He couldn't believe it was that simple, but then again, at the time, Kíli hadn't known who he was. But now he did know, yet Kíli was still clearly wanting him so badly that the elf could feel his hardness through the layers of clothing.

Legolas knew he should stop this. Something wasn't right. No one gave themselves this freely, this boldly, unless it had something to do with love. And Kíli didn't love him. Right? Suddenly he wasn't so sure. Not that he suspected true love, the kind that took people through the hardest of times, but it could have been a love far more immature and romantic in nature.

Everything bit of logic in the prince told him that he should back away, and he did, rising up, grabbing the dwarf's hand, and leading him back to shore. Kíli followed with obvious reluctance, his body fighting a bit. Legolas put his gear back on, ignoring the eyes trying to burn his back. The dwarf followed his lead a few moments later.

Looking to the distance, Legolas muttered, "Let's try to make the inlet before we camp for the night."

"...Okay."

Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to let Kíli come along. This all had greatly complicated something that had been so simple yesterday. But then again, when had his life ever been simple? He could try to ignore the complications, yes, and succeed on occasion, but it was never simple.

Legolas walked back to their grazing horses and mounted his. The dwarf was a step behind. When the dwarf looked at him, he couldn't help but look back. But he couldn't stand the look on Kíli's face. He steered his horse next to the other one, grabbed the dwarf's coat, leaned down, and, against his better judgment, kissed the dwarf deeply so that they were both moaning into it.

Pulling away, the horses getting agitated, he smiled and murmured truthfully, despite everything, "I'm glad you came along."

Kíli's smile was brighter than the sun.


	4. Chapter 4

Shifting a bit in the saddle to adjust the irritating clinginess of his clothing, Kíli's damp bottom half constantly reminded him of what had happened only a half an hour before. No, he wasn't chilled anymore, not really, but couldn't help but think of the elf's heated body against him, stopping his own body's shivers and his clattering teeth, in the river. Those thoughts heated up a great deal of the dwarf at that moment, in fact.

And that kiss... He couldn't forget about the kiss Legolas had pulled him into when Kíli had been seriously considering cowering his way back home, yes, with his tail between his legs, after his virginity admission. He'd been so stupid to admit such a thing. Legolas probably now thought of him as a complete child, despite the delicious, gut-twirling kiss afterwards. Kíli knew he never should have said anything, but he'd never been a liar. A jokester, a flirt, and, as his mother would say, half way to being a vagrant, but never an outright liar.

Blowing out a breath, Kíli glanced again to the elf, hoping to sneak a look without him noticing. His gaze lingered longer than necessary though, and, when Legolas began to turn his head, Kíli jerked his head to look the other way into the forest, immediately kicking himself. So much for not being a child.

Their silence continued on. Legolas hardly spoke which seemed deafening when Kíli was so used to dwarves' chatter. His brother, a constant companion, rarely understood that a dwarf _could_ close their mouth. And Kíli wasn't much better, well, was no better at all. But he wouldn't let himself gush out nervous words to fill the void when Legolas seemed perfectly content to enjoy the calls of the birds, the beat of their horses' hooves, and the churning of the nearby river.

A distant twig snapped. Kíli tugged on the reins, bringing his horse to a standstill, and listened intently. A fainter break echoed from something considerably heavy, but there was definitely something there. He was off his horse in the next moment, drawing his bow and an arrow, and quickening into the forest, silently on his soft boots.

Whether or not Legolas followed him, it didn't really matter to him. These were his woods. He'd grown up in them and knew every inch of them from detailed maps, if not by experience. This particular area was prime for hunting since it tended to stay warmer than the northern half of the forest, as well as the fact that there were rarely dwarves this far south to thin out the wildlife.

After a few minutes, pausing to listen on occasion, he found the beast rubbing its nose in the undergrowth, rummaging for food. It was a good-sized boar with enough meat to feed the both the elf and himself for a couple of weeks.

Rather than chance fate, Kíli only got as close as he needed to be to make the kill. He placed the arrow, drew it back, aimed, drew in a quiet breath, aimed again, and then let the arrow fly. It landed true, right in the beast's chest, burrowing deep. He rushed forward, halving the distance, and shot again, to be safe. But the time he reached it, its life was leaving its eyes.

After waiting a few minutes to be sure of its passing, he removed his heavy overcoat, and started working on carving up the carcass. It wasn't worth the effort to try to carry it back to the river. The boar was far too heavy and cumbersome for him to bother when he could perform the duty where he already was.

A couple of minutes later, he saw Legolas leading the horses towards him. The elf let go of the bridles and then closed the distance, smiling down at him. "You have skill. Last night I wasn't so sure..."

Already knowing what the elf was getting at, Kíli grinned up at him. "Last night I was drunk out of my mind. And, yes, last night, I would have sooner shot myself than anything worth eating."

Legolas crouched down a short distance away. "I'm not sure I completely agree with that."

Kíli frowned at the elf. "How so?"

Legolas gave the dwarf a look over and then grinned. "I would enjoy tasting you. Very much so."

The dwarf's brows shot up, right before his pulse went crazy and reddened his cheeks. His mouth opened, but he couldn't think of a single thing to say to that. So much for being a world-class smartass and flirt.

Trying to be rational about the words, Kíli wondered if this elf would say such a thing to just anyone. Was there any meaning behind it besides the obvious? He found himself wanting to know so badly that he completely forgot about everything around them, even the beast he was supposed to be taking care of so they could move on in their travels.

When Kíli still couldn't figure out what to say a minute later, Legolas smiled at him again, came forward, drew a long blade, and started working on the carcass. Kíli watched his precise, obviously experience slices for a short while, and then joined him. In twenty minutes, they'd taken what they could, brought it all a bit of a distance away, started up a fire, and then began to diligently dry out the meat so that it would last the coming days, taking turns to wash up at the river.

When Kíli came back from his turn, Legolas was singing softly and with such beauty, that the dwarf sat down and merely listened. Although he couldn't understand the words, the melody made it sound so sad that, soon, Kíli couldn't stop the tears that watered his eyes. After his voice trailed off, Legolas finally looked at him and smiled, his eyes melancholy.

"What is that song?" Kíli asked, holding his knees to his chest. "It sounds heartbreaking."

The elf's smile deepened, and he looked again to the fire, turning a branch over to smoke the other side of the meat. "My mother used to sing it to me, to put me to sleep. It's a lullaby. ...I can't remember her voice really... But I remember when she sang."

"She passed away?"

"Yes, a long, long time ago, when I was a child. I don't remember much of her."

"But you remember the song?"

"Some things you can't forget, even if you want to," Legolas murmured, giving Kíli the feeling that he was speaking of much more than merely a song.

It was well past dark before they finished up and started making their way south again, removing themselves from the remains' scent that would bring scavengers. They were still quite a way from the inlet when Legolas stopped at a rocky hillside that offered them some protection for the night.

"We can camp here, unless you know of a better place?"

Kíli smiled with a shake of his head and dismounted. "I don't usually come this far south. One place is as good as another to me."

They worked side by side, getting their blankets off of their mounts and then let them wander off to graze. Legolas walked away first, laying down his gear on a spot of land that looked level enough. Kíli found himself standing there like an idiot, watching the elf and his graceful movements that seemed more like a dance than getting ready for the night.

Dwarves, by comparison, were nothing like this elf. His kind got the job done, with little more than a toss, so that they could amuse themselves with other things, like a smoke, cheery music, and some ale or beer or even wine, if they could get their hands on it. With Legolas though... Kíli realized he was quite out of place.

And where was he to sleep, exactly? A respectable distance? With him? Against him? He felt his body heat up again at merely that thought.

When he'd stood there for a good couple of minutes, Legolas had finished and finally turned around to raise a brow at him.

"I..."

The elf's brows furrowed slightly, but then he said quietly, "Come here."

Feeling quite like a moth fluttering precariously close to a flame, Kíli closed the distance and then laid his blankets a good boot's length away from Legolas', enough distance to not be on top of one another, but not so far away as to be obvious. He could feel light blue eyes on him, watching his every movement. That only heated him up more. But he couldn't protest. He himself had watched the elf just as closely, after all.

Then he sat down on the blankets, rummaged around in his bag he'd also brought with, and found his pipe. The familiar feel of the wood and scent of it helped put him somewhat at ease. He dug out a small pouch of leaf and a small flint and steel, and lit it up. The sweet scent quickly filled the air, and he sighed contently. If he'd just brought some mind-numbing alcohol, it would have almost been like time well spent with his brother.

Except, when he looked up at his companion as Legolas sat down next to him, Kíli knew this definitely wasn't his brother. Then Legolas laid down completely and looked up at the clear night, his eyes flickering around, as if finding patterns in the stars.

Kíli looked up as well. "Do you know the constellations?"

"Yes. And the names of the stars that have names."

"A lot do."

"Yes."

Looking back to the elf, curious but not really believing, he asked, "You know all of them?"

"Yes." Legolas smiled. "Elves cherish every star in the sky. Besides, I had more than enough time to learn them. My father can be a patient man, when he wants to be. Although, naming the stars and sharing their stories is hardly a chore for him. I could point to any one and he'd tell me everything there is to know about it."

"How do you know he knows everything there is to know?"

Legolas looked up at him and then smirked. "I suppose there may be things he doesn't know, but when I was a child, that was an impossibility."

The dwarf could understand that. Rarely did a child question their parents' ways unless an outsider called their parents out. Even then, a child was likely to defend their parents to the end. At least, that was the way it was with dwarves.

After a couple of puffs on his pipe, Kíli began to point to the stars, asking what Legolas knew about them, which turned out to be a considerable amount of information, enough to make him drowsy and lie down over his blankets, his finished pipe getting put down on the ground next to him. He continued to point. Each soft word from the elf dragged him down deeper and deeper until sleep overtook him.

But then, before he went too deep, something touched his cheek, flashing his eyes back open. Propped up on an elbow, Legolas was looking down at him, his hand already pulled away. If the elf had touched him like that the night before, Kíli definitely wouldn't have woken up, as drunk as he was. Now...

"Sorry, I..." the elf began, his eyes searching Kíli face. "I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."

Blinking, trying to figure out what he should be doing at that moment, Kíli nonetheless watched the elf pull away and lie back down on his own blankets. Then the dwarf rolled onto his side, staring, trying to place the elf's actions in his drowsy mind. He let his eyes trail down the long body and then noticed what was between his legs. The hardness there...

Instantly awake, the length between his own legs getting hard, Kíli stared at it before Legolas seemed to realize what exactly he was staring at and rolled away, putting his back to the smaller person. Heart thudding, the dwarf could only see that as a dismissal, a rejection. His arousal deflated.

Rolling back onto his back, dark eyes looked back up at the stars. He tried to remember everything Legolas had said to him about them, to distract himself.

A minute later, unable to think about anything except for the elf so near to him, he swallowed and said, "Goodnight, elf."

A couple of seconds later, he heard in a voice that sounded no more content than himself, "Goodnight, dwarf."

Too nervous to make any kind of move on someone whose body Kíli already knew quite well, it was a considerably long time before sleep finally took him again. But every moment of that time, he hoped the elf would roll back over and find his place against him.


End file.
